| Plexus Consulting Group | Success Stories | ||
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Mortgage Banker's Association of America |
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Situation The International Division of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBAA) had been receiving steadily increasing demands from finance organizations in emerging markets for training and technical assistance programs. Such programs had been developed in-house and widely used with great success for members throughout the Americas for many years. In response to this demand, the MBAA Board decided to establish Societas, a separate and independent international institute for real estate finance. Societas (established in the Fall of 1999) is a nonprofit organization, headquartered in Washington, DC but staffed internationally and overseen by a board of directors comprising individuals from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Its mission is "to provide a global forum to support the development of sustainable communities through the creation and implementation of effective real estate finance systems." The MBAA has had extensive project experience to date in Latin America (Mexico, Brazil); Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia); Asia (Indonesia) and Africa (Algeria, Morocco). The Plexus Consulting Group was asked to provide strategic planning and international business research and counsel to MBAA as it launched and established the Institute. A key goal is to establish the Institute as preferred provider of technical assistance worldwide on matters of real estate finance. In addition to providing background information on the markets and international lending agencies active in the field, Plexus has been retained to secure operational and program funding as well as technical assistance grants worldwide. Action Plexus Consulting Group provides ongoing support to MBAA by:  identifying and developing key strategic alliances with similar organizations; identifying and developing key technical assistance partnerships; building relationships with key international lending agencies; monitoring and helping to secure technical assistance opportunities; identifying and securing private multinational sources of operational and program support.Also, Plexus Consulting Group continues to develop and implement strategic planning modules to guide the institute in realizing its business plan in the coming years. Results To date, key contacts and funding sources have been identified worldwide, and technical assistance partnerships are being established. A report documenting the worldwide real estate finance-related activities of Washington-based international lending agencies (The World Bank, Interamerican Development Bank and USAID) along with a targeted list of US-based funding sources was delivered to incoming board and advisory council members in May, 1999. A similar report documenting information for Europe and other global emerging markets is scheduled for delivery to pending European board members and advisors in July, 1999. Plexus Consulting Group is facilitating strategic planning sessions in tandem with the delivery of the reports cited above, looking toward the establishment of the Institute and final appointment of the board of directors this Fall. Well over USD 2 billion in urban development funding opportunities have been identified from Western Hemisphere-based sources alone, and project opportunities for technical assistance stemming from loans totaling well over USD 500 million have been identified in the following countries: The Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Barbados. |
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